The number of obesity-related hospital admissions has more than doubled in the last four years with obese women in particular placing an increasing burden on the NHS, new figures show.

There were almost 617,000 appointments in 2016-17 where obesity was either a primary or secondary diagnosis – up from 292,000 in 2012-13. Two in every three patients were female, according to NHS Digital’s latest report. The figure last year was 525,000 meaning an extraordinary year-on-year rise of 18 per cent.

“The government are failing our children with a watered-down obesity strategy, alongside severe cuts to public health provisos.”

Jonathan Ashworth, Shadow Health Secretary

Wirral, Southampton and Slough all recorded admission rates of over 2,500 per 100,000 people, some of the worst figures in the country.

In 2016-17 there were 10,705 admissions where obesity was recorded as the main cause of admission – almost three in every four patients (72 per cent) were female. And women accounted for 77 per cent pf the 6,700 bariatric surgeries conducted in hospitals across England in 2016/17.

Bariatric surgery is an umbrella term for a group of procedures which help a person lose weight – including stomach stapling, gastric bypasses and gastric band maintenance. Telford and Wrekin (53 per 100,000 people), in the Midlands, and Redcar & Cleveland (44 per 100,000 people), in North Yorkshire, had the highest rates of obesity-related bariatric surgery.

The UK has one of the worst obesity levels among all OECD countries. (Table: NHS Digital)

More than a quarter (26 per cent) of English adults are obese – including 2 per cent of men and 4 per cent of women who are classed as “morbidly obese”, meaning they have a body mass index (BMI) score of over 40. In England, 30 per cent of women are overweight and 27 per cent are obese. Two in five men (40 per cent) are overweight and 26 per cent are obese.

Childhood obesity rates were also the highest on record with 1,121 admissions with a primary diagnosis of obesity for young people aged 24 and under – a 33 per cent increase compared with a decade ago. One in five children in Year 6 and one in 10 children in reception are now classified as obese.

Exercise

The figures also provide data on physical activity levels and diet. According to NHS Digital, a third of men and 42 per cent of women did not meet the recommended weekly activity levels in 2016. Just over 1 in 5 men (21 per cent) and a quarter of women were classed as “inactive”.

Meanwhile, only around a quarter of adults – 24 per cent of men and 28 per cent of women – consumed the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day in 2016.

Compared with other OECD countries, the UK’s adult obesity level is 11 percentage points lower than the USA. Japan, Korea and Italy all report obesity levels of less than 10 per cent.

Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “These statistics reveal we still have a long way to go to tackle childhood obesity and ensure every child is given the best start in life. Tackling health inequalities starting with an ambitious programme to improve health and wellbeing of children will be an absolute priority of the next Labour government.

“The figures paint a picture of an inherently unhealthy nation and, even with the promise of additional funding for the NHS, are figures still likely to bring the health service to its knees.”

Tam Fry, Chair, National Obesity Forum

“We’ll bring forward an obesity strategy including new measures to ensure proper labelling of food and ban the advertising of junk food on family time TV. In contrast, the government are failing our children with a watered-down obesity strategy, alongside severe cuts to public health provisos.”

Dr Aseem Malhotra, consultant cardiologist and member of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges Obesity Steering Group, told i: “These figures are extremely disturbing but not surprising. There are two major factors driving the twin epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes that need to be tackled head on if we are to win this war on flab.

“The first is obesogenic environment of processed foods made up of predominantly starchy carbohydrates and sugar. This will need legislation that makes healthy food more affordable and available and junk food the opposite.

Dietary advice

“The second is an overhaul of dietary advice that based on bad science has for decades wrongly demonised fat and saturated fat and placed foods such as bread, pasta and rice at the base. It’s these foods consumed in excess that has caused metabolic mayhem on population health.”

The shocking figures are published on the eve of the Government’s sugar tax coming into force. Manufacturers of soft drinks containing more than 5g of sugar per 100ml will pay a levy of 18p a litre to the Treasury, or 24p a litre if the sugar content is over 8g per 100ml, with the cost passed on to retailers and customers.

The Government and health campaigners hope the higher prices will put consumers off buying the most sugary drinks and lead to a significant decline in obesity.

Tam Fry, chair of the National Obesity Forum, told i: “No matter what the metric, today’s figures make for grim reading. They paint a picture of an inherently unhealthy nation and, even with the promise of additional funding for the NHS, are figures still likely to bring the health service to its knees. The rise of obesity alone may not do it but add in the cost for treating the plethora of conditions overweight triggers – diabetes, cancers and heart disease to name only three – that funding is likely not to be enough ”

A Department of Health and Social Care Spokesperson said: “There’s no doubt that obesity fuels disease and puts pressure on the NHS. That’s why we’re working with industry to make food healthier and funding research into the root causes of obesity – but we have not ruled out doing more in the future if the right results aren’t seen.”

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